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Bend It Like Beckham

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United Kingdom, Germany, United States · 2002
Rated PG-13 · 1h 52m
Director Gurinder Chadha
Starring Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anupam Kher
Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance

18-year-old Jess Bharma secretly joins a semi-pro soccer team in England, against her strict parent's wishes. She attempts to balance her family's traditional values with her life on the pitch, as her parents' suspicion mounts and she develops romantic feelings for her coach.

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What are people saying?

Stella Rumble Profile picture for Stella Rumble

Definitely a classic film for soccer lovers. The film is really well-acted, and the believable chemistry between Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley make this film really enjoyable. The film has an energetic and witty script, I'd recommend checking it out.

What are critics saying?

50

Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt

Just a few years ago, the generally felt aspiration of ethnic groups was to blend in with the majority culture. Today it's to flourish in modern society while actively remembering old-country values...Bend It Like Beckham could cement the trend.

50

New York Daily News by Jami Bernard

Director and co-writer Gurinder Chadha continues in the vein of her previous movies, "What's Cooking?" and "Bhaji on the Beach," exploring with humor and compassion how cultures adapt in foreign climes.

80

Wall Street Journal by Joe Morgenstern

I'm still smiling as I recall Jess, the soccer star-to-be, standing behind her straitlaced mother in the kitchen and casually bouncing a head of lettuce on her knee.

50

Austin Chronicle by Marc Savlov

There's nothing terribly bad about Bend It Like Beckham -- in fact it's a fine Friday-night-out film -- it's just that it strikes me as being an awful little piffle cloaked in the garb of something so much more.

63

Chicago Tribune by Mark Caro

Much of the value -- entertainment and otherwise -- of seeing a culture-specific movie is to connect with a larger world than your everyday life offers.

100

Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman

The most exhilarating movie so far this year. It's made up of many familiar elements -- think ''Monsoon Wedding'' meets ''My Beautiful Laundrette'' meets ''Personal Best'' -- yet before long, you catch on to how buoyant and funny and original it is.

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